Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to napkin holders for use by consumers in their home locations and by patrons of commercial dining establishments in restaurants and other commercial dining facilities. The invention relates more particularly to a novel way of storing and presenting napkins in an aesthetically pleasing way and of dispensing the same napkins in simple and easy manner.
Background Discussion
Paper napkins are in common use in households and eating establishments. The present invention pertains to square and rectangular napkins that are sold in a stacked format and are usually stored and dispensed in that orientation. Separating (individuating) stacked napkins is a well-known problem. Many napkin holders are simple containers (usually metal) that retain the napkins in a rectangular cuboid box with a spring-biased panel that urges the stack toward a dispensing window. A user pulls on an exposed flap of napkin material to select and extract a napkin from the napkin holder. But as diners well know, it is evidently an irresistible temptation to overload this kind of napkin holder and thereby to create a tightly packed stack that renders the removal process one of tugging and tearing the napkin rather than gently pulling it from the container.
Other holders may comprise hoppers that conform to the profile of the napkin stack and rely on a weight or the stack weight itself to urge the napkins to a slot at the bottom of the hopper, where napkins can be removed.
These common napkin holding and dispensing devices make it difficult to remove an individual napkin. This characteristic results in lots of wasted of napkins (thus wasted paper). Additionally the dispensers are difficult and time-consuming to load.
The napkin holder of the present invention resolves the foregoing problems. It easily and efficiently orients napkins on edge in a decorative and splayed (fanned out) arrangement that facilitates retrieval of individual napkins. Further, the inventive napkin holder has no moving parts and does not apply pressure to the napkin stack. These are important but non-limiting features of the present invention provided so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood, and so that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.